The Choices We Make: The Black Book
by Imperial Acclamator 119830
Summary: As Scarlett and her friends' second year begins at Hogwarts, they soon discover that the world around them is quickly changing and the Ministry of Magic is at the center of it all. The school gets a new, young Charms teacher who may not be as well prepared for the job as she thought, and most importantly, Scarlett discovers a strange book that may hold pure evil in its pages.
1. Long Summer Nights

Disclaimer: Can we get… I don't know, some sort of form we fill out so I don't have to put this every time I start a new story? Ugh… I digress. Where was I? Oh yes… I don't own anything. Nothing at all. Nope, no ownership here whatsoever.

-.-

_Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!_ The gentle buzzing sound pierced twelve-year-old Scarlett Moreau's sleepy brain, rousing the young brunette from a very deep sleep. Muttering darkly, Scarlett disentangled herself from her blankets and reached across to her nightstand in the darkness and grabbed her cell phone. She glanced briefly at the glowing display and then held the device up to her ear.

"Hullo..." she said blearily.

"Hey!" came the cheerful voice of one of Scarlett's closest friends, Jake Warner. She had met Jake almost a year ago while riding the train to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one of the most prestigious schools of magic in the world. Jake was a very nice boy, sometimes rather nervous, but sweet. He was also muggleborn, meaning that unlike Scarlett, he didn't have a drop of magical blood in his veins but had somehow, by some fluke of fate, had been born a wizard nonetheless.

"Jake, it's three in the morning," Scarlett muttered darkly, rolling onto her back. "Why are you calling me?"

"What? Oh, right... sorry," said Jake quickly. "Sorry, I forgot about the time difference!"

"Yeah, there's a bit of a time difference between Leeds and New York," said Scarlett dryly

"There is," Jake agreed, sounding rather nervous. "Uh... sorry again..."

"Well, you called me and woke me up," said Scarlett, sitting up in bed. "What did you want?"

"Oh, well... it's kind of a long story," said Jake. "I was just going to tell you about the tour of Newcastle Academy of Magic we went on yesterday. It's... very different from Hogwarts."

"Well, America is very different from Britain," said Scarlett. "So, no surprises there. Thinking of transferring?" Jake chuckled.

"Of course not!" he exclaimed. "What would my three girls do without me?"

"I really have no idea," said Scarlett in a very serious voice.

"Well, I'll let you get back to sleep," said Jake. "Sorry for waking you. Will you call me back in the morning? There's a lot more I want to tell you and the owl Dad bought me for my birthday is a little... well... old and I don't think he'd manage a transatlantic flight if I wrote you a letter."

"Of course," said Scarlett. "What time is it there? I've got to make sure I call you a three a.m. your time."

"Thanks," Jake said dryly.

"Oh, anytime," Scarlett replied. "Talk to you later."

"Yeah," said Jake. "Bye,"

"Bye," Jake hung up and Scarlett heard the line go dead. With a sigh she placed her phone back on her bedside table and after a few seconds the illuminated display went out, plunging the room into complete darkness.

-.-

**The Choices We Make: The Black Book**

Chapter One: Long Summer Nights

It was mid august in Scarlett's hometown of Leeds and the summer holiday was quickly coming to a close. The twelve-year-old was taking the time to enjoy her final days of freedom by relaxing in a lawn chair by the pool in her backyard because in two weeks the new school year would be starting at Hogwarts and Scarlett had to admit that she was both excited and worried about it.

Her first year at Hogwarts had not been particularly normal... even for a witch. Upon her arrival at Hogwarts, she had befriended the Charms teacher, a man named Mercius Balathar who had once known Scarlett's birth parents, Alexandra and Michael Moreau. Both of them had been killed in an accident involving an experimental spell when Scarlett was two years old.

Balathar had once had an affair with Scarlett's mother and he had believed that Scarlett might have been his daughter. This, Scarlett knew, had turned out not to be true but Balathar still appeared to have a fatherly interest in Scarlett. They had taken to each other very quickly and became fast friends... until Balathar's true intentions had been revealed.

Balathar had betrayed Scarlett to a strange wizard who wanted to steal a powerful relic called the Orbstone from Hogwarts. The wizard failed to claim his prize and both he and Balathar had been forced to flee from Hogwarts and the Orbstone itself had seemingly disappeared, but not before Scarlett had been horrendously tortured and nearly killed. It had taken her the better part of a month to fully recover physically, and despite what she told anyone who asked, she still hadn't recovered mentally and emotionally.

Balathar's betrayal had truly devastated her. She had cared about him, maybe even loved him in a father-daughter way. It seemed that Balathar had wanted her for no reason other than to use her as a sick, twisted copy of Scarlett's mother. It turned out that Balathar had been obsessed with Alexandra even when she was a student at Hogwarts. Scarlett was a picture-perfect copy of her and Balathar had intended to kidnap her and use her to... well, Scarlett preferred not to think about what uses Balathar would have found for her if his plans had not been foiled.

Despite all the pain of the previous year that still remained with her, there were certainly some good things coming along in her life. Scarlett's adoptive parents, Sara and Jonathon Hobbard, had to make an emergency trip to Germany. Jonathon worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation and he was needed immediately at the German Magical Embassy.

As soon as she learned that she would be cooped up in a hotel room, as she always was on her father's business trips, for the next two weeks, Scarlett had immediately sent a plea to her very best friend in the world, Lilly Harcourt. Lilly was a fellow Hogwarts student and they were in the same house, Gryffindor. The two girls had met on the Hogwarts Express one year ago and had instantly become close friends.

Lilly had happily asked her parents and they agreed to allow Scarlett to come and spend the rest of the summer with them. They had assured Scarlett's parents that she would be perfectly safe and that they would see their daughter safely onto the Hogwarts Express on September 1st.

As Lilly was due to arrive later that afternoon and Scarlett wasn't even fully packed, she decided to cut her relaxation time short and wrapped herself in a towel and headed up to her bedroom. Scarlett didn't consider herself a messy girl, but as she stood in the doorway gazing around at her room she had to admit that she had allowed her possessions to... spread out a bit over the summer.

Tugging on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, Scarlett began moving about her room collecting her belongings and tossing them haphazardly into her school trunk. Her owl, Aura, who sat in her cage atop Scarlett's wardrobe, hooted in a 'couldn't-you-at-least-_pack_-without-making-a-mess?' sort of way.

"What?" Scarlett asked the owl. "I'm in a hurry. Lilly will be here in a couple of hours." Aura gave her a look that quite clearly said, 'You could've started days ago'. Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"You know me, Aura," said Scarlett with a wry smile. "I procrastinate." It took Scarlett well over an hour to fully pack her trunk. She was just throwing the last book, an old diary of her mother's with several pages ripped out at the end that Balathar had given her the previous year, into her trunk when her mother's voice echoed up the stairs.

"Scarlett, sweetheart, lunch is ready!" her mother called.

"Be right there!" Scarlett replied, closing the lid of her trunk. "Here," she said to Aura. "Are you hungry? Alright, I'll let you out. But be back in an hour, Lilly's coming and I don't want her to have to wait on us." Aura hooted happily as Scarlett unlocked her cage. She took flight, pausing long enough to nip her mistress affectionately on her ear before leaving the house through the open window. Smiling, Scarlett turned to head downstairs. She stopped, however, at the doorway when she spotted the old locket her mother had given her on the platform just before she boarded the Hogwarts Express.

The locket had once belonged to her birth mother, who had asked Sara to give it to Scarlett before she left for Hogwarts. Scarlett loved the locket and almost never took it off. The only thing that annoyed her about it was that she had never been able to open it. She scooped it up and looked at the small golden disk attached to the silver chain.

The large letter A (without the line in the middle) in the center of the disk caught the light from the open window, causing it to glow slightly. Scarlett sighed as she ran her thumb over the disk, a small but rather sad smile on her face. She carefully looped the chain around her neck and tucked the locket down the front of her shirt, allowing the heavy metal disk to come to rest in the center of her chest.

Scarlett continued downstairs and entered the kitchen where her mother was busily folding clothes that had just come out of the dryer and tossing them just as wildly as her daughter had, into a suitcase. Scarlett sat down at the table and scooted the plate of baked chicken and boiled potatoes toward her.

"Taking enough clothes?" Scarlett asked, noticing the suitcase was practically full of nothing but clothing.

"Well, we're going to be gone a while," said Sara with a shrug. "I don't want to be stuck in Germany with not enough clothes to wear."

"They do have stores, you know," Scarlett said idly, spearing a bite of chicken with her fork. "You could just buy something new if you run out... or, you know there's this things called washing machines... You know how Dad hates Apparating with heavy luggage."

"I'll Apparate my luggage by myself if he gets in a mood," said Sara. "Besides, have you seen your father's suitcase? He's got it filled with an entire file cabinet full of paperwork!"

"I guess he needs it for… whatever he's got to deal with," said Scarlett thoughtfully. "What's going on over there, anyway? Has Dad said anything?"

"He told me the German Ministry is threatening to completely cut ties with the British Ministry if all of this Muggleborn legislation rubbish stays in effect." Sara explained. "Did you hear about the latest law they passed?" Scarlett shook her head. The last thing that she had heard had happened late in the previous school year. The Ministry of Magic had passed a law that said that any Muggleborns not currently attending Hogwarts or living in a magical community would never be permitted to attend Hogwarts or live within a magical community.

Scarlett knew that Professor Harmony Phoebus, the headmistress of Hogwarts School, had been outraged by the law and had flat out said that any Muggleborn who wished to come to learn at Hogwarts would be welcomed. Scarlett didn't know how Professor Phoebus would be able to do that, but if there was one thing she did know it was that when Professor Phoebus said something, she had every intention of following through with it. She had made the Muggleborn community a promise and Scarlett knew the headmistress would keep it.

"No," Scarlett told her mother. "What's going on now?"

"The Ministry's added an amendment to their bloody Muggleborn Proliferation Act," her mother replied hotly. "They've made it illegal for Muggleborns to get jobs in a Magical place of business. Thankfully, people who are already employed are unaffected but who knows how long that'll last with these damn Puritists running about."

"Cursing in front of our daughter, I see," said Jonathon, Scarlett's father, as he entered the kitchen hurriedly tying a tie around his neck. "I get a death glare whenever _I _do that."

"In this case it was justified," said Sara defiantly. "In fact, I could've said much worse in regards to the Puritists."

"That's not untrue," Jonathon agreed. "If Minister Tobias keeps submitted to pressure from the Purity Movement, he's going to have some major problems." He sat down at the table across from Scarlett and unfolded the newspaper that was lying in one of the otherwise empty chairs. "Did you see the front page this morning?" He asked his wife. "The Americans are threatening very heavy sanctions if the M.P.A. remains in effect."

"What sort of sanctions?" Scarlett asked curiously. Jonathon shrugged.

"Well, they haven't given any details but its safe to say that if our ministry is going to face any kind of international political issues it'll be the Americans leading the charge. They've already threatened to withdraw from the United International Federation of Magic... not that I can blame them. If I didn't work for the Ministry, I'd be charging right along with them."

"So what are you going to Germany for?" Scarlett inquired.

"To try and smooth all of this Muggleborn stuff over," said Jonathon. "The Magical Empire of Germany is right up there with the American Magical Republic on the subject. Emperor Heinrich has sent letters to the Minister personally requesting he reconsider these new laws. It would do any good, but he's trying.

"Unfortunately, the Germans are a bit more... aggressive than the Americans. They're planning on a full diplomatic cut off. They're saying they'll completely cut all ties with us and that would devastate our economy. I'm hoping we'll be able to soothe tensions and retain political ties." Before Scarlett could reply, there was a knock at the front door.

"And that'll be Lilly," said Sara as Scarlett ran out of the kitchen at breakneck speed, racing down the hallway to the door. She reached it in seconds and, taking a brief moment to compose herself, she tugged it open. Lilly stood on the front porch, apparently examining the doorbell with slight interest. She looked up when Scarlett opened the door and the girl's rather pouty lips curved up into a wide smile, a smile that lit up her baby blue eyes.

"Carly!" Lilly exclaimed, using the pet name she had created for the brunette the previous year. In the brief moment in which the girls' eyes met, what felt like a bolt of pure, unfiltered lightning rippled through Scarlett's entire body. Such a thing would come as a shock to most, but to Lilly and Scarlett it had become as natural as breathing because it happened every time they looked at each other or touched one another. It had terrified them at first, but after over a year it had become the very best feeling in the world. Neither girl could say why it happened, nor did they care at all.

Smiling widely, Lilly leapt forward, engulfing the other girl in a bone-crushing hug. They broke apart and Lilly held Scarlett out at arm's length to look her over.

"You look great!" said Lilly brightly.

"You too!" Scarlett replied. "What did you do to your hair?" she asked, noticing Lilly's blonde locks were quite wavy now instead of straight like they had been when she had last seen her best friend.

"Oh, you like?" Lilly asked, turning on the spot. "My mum did it..."

"It looks great!" said Scarlett happily. "Well, come on in! I want you to meet my mum and dad." She paused, looking over Lilly's shoulder at a large black sedan parked on the road in front of the house. A tall man in a suit and tie stood beside the rear passenger door, waiting quite patiently. "Your dad can come too," she added pleasantly.

"Oh, that's not my dad," said Lilly, glancing back at him. "That's Geoffrey Bu'Fay, my family's driver." Scarlett arched her eyebrows.

"Your driver, huh?" she said idly. "Since when do you have a driver? And why'd you come by car, anyway? I figured you'd use the Floo Network."

"Ah, well, see that's..." but she broke off as Sara and Jonathon appeared, smiling, behind Scarlett.

"Ah, you must be Lilly," said Sara brightly. Lilly nodded. "Well, Scarlett's told us all about you, of course." she added, patting her daughter's shoulder lovingly.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Hobbard," said Lilly pleasantly. "Mr. Hobbard."

"Lilly, I haven't had the chance to thank you," said Jonathon firmly. "But I absolutely want to thank you for helping save our Scarlett last term. She might have been killed had you not tipped off Professor Phoebus that she was in danger." Lilly smiled graciously.

"Well, she was doing just fine on her own from what I understand," she said gently. "But you're welcome, nonetheless." Jonathon took a quick glance at his watch and his eyes widened.

"Sweet lordy-lord, we're late!" he exclaimed. "I'd invite you in for a cup of tea, but I'm afraid we've got to be off!"

"You're packed, then?" Lilly asked Scarlett as the brunette's father bustled off.

"Yeah, my trunk's upstairs," Scarlett replied.

"I'll help bring it down," said Lilly. Together, the girls headed upstairs and into Scarlett's bedroom.

"You'll have to excuse the mess, I'm a little... well, messy..." said Scarlett somewhat nervously.

"Oh, that's okay," said Lilly with a smile. "I like a little messiness every now and again. My mum is a bit of a... neat-freak…"

"Right," said Scarlett, opening her trunk and making sure she had everything she needed. As she was searching, Aura flew back in through the open window and landed gently on Lilly's shoulder.

"Hey, Aura," said Lilly pleasantly. "Have a good summer?" The owl hooted happily.

"Me too," said Lilly.

"Come on, Aura," Scarlett called, opening the owl's cage door. "We're about to leave." Aura took flight and landed in her cage. Scarlett closed and locked the door and dropped a few Owl Treats in the bottom of the cage. Aura hooted appreciatively.

Back downstairs, Scarlett bade her parents goodbye. Sara was weeping as was normal as she hugged her daughter and Jonathon asked Lilly to keep an eye out for Scarlett as she had done the previous year. After saying their goodbyes, Sara and Jonathon Disapparated. Lilly and Scarlett dragged the heavy trunk and Aura's cage outside and Scarlett locked the door. Lilly's driver, Geoffrey, approached them and bowed.

"I'll take that, madam," he said to Scarlett, relieving her of Aura's cage and her trunk. Lilly smiled at Scarlett as Geoffrey stowed the luggage in the trunk of the sedan and secured Aura's cage inside the car.

"So what was that you were saying about arriving by car instead of the Floo Network?" Scarlett asked as she and Lilly sat down in the rear of the vehicle.

"Oh, that," said Lilly. "Well, my dad's a... well, he prefers to blend in as perfectly with Muggles as possible when we're out in their world. We travel using Muggle transportation, we live in a Muggle house although it _is _magically cloaked…"

"What's the point in using Muggle transportation if you're going to a Magical location?" Scarlett asked. "The Floo Network would've..."

"Well, my dad actually works in the Muggle world," said Lilly. "He's a banker for Geller & Greene International Bank and Trust, a big bank in London. He loves everything about Muggles and their way of life... which is good, because he married one."

"Oh, your mum's not a witch then?" Scarlett asked curiously, surprised that she had never discovered this fact before.

"Nope," said Lilly. "I'm a half-blood, if that matters. My mum's part of the reason my dad is working so hard against the Muggleborn Proliferation Act. If the M.P.A. already affects muggleborns, how long until they start coming after wizards who marry Muggles? I mean, where will they draw the line? What if they start going after half-bloods too?"

"If there's a wizard alive today that's not at least a half-blood, I'll be surprised," said Scarlett dryly. "My mum was a half-blood and my dad was muggleborn. Most of the old wizarding families have practically died out or married into Muggle families."

"Diluting Magical blood," said Lilly angrily. "At least that's what the Puritists keep saying." She shrugged. "Well, let's not talk about something so depressing. Tell me about your summer!"

"Nothing particularly special happened," said Scarlett. "I mostly just hung out by the pool and read from the Book of Shadows."

"The what?" Lilly asked, arching her eyebrows.

"You remember that box of stuff I got for Christmas last year?" Scarlett asked the blonde.

"Yeah," Lilly replied, remembering the strange Christmas morning when Scarlett had opened the large box which contained a number of books as well as a magical map called the Marauder's Map that showed a live image of where everyone was inside of Hogwarts and an Invisibility Cloak. The box had been sent anonymously except for a short note signed with the initials P.H., which meant absolutely nothing to Scarlett whatsoever.

"Well, the Book of Shadows was mixed in with all of that stuff," Scarlett explained. "I showed it to you last year."

"It was a book," said Lilly, shrugged. "Trust me, I wouldn't remember."

"Yeah, well, this one's actually really interesting," said Scarlett. "It's a book of spells, but there are descriptions of demons and warlocks and all sorts of magical creatures as well as tips and methods of how to fight and destroy them."

"Planning on becoming a demon slayer, are you?" Lilly asked interestedly. Scarlett rolled her brown eyes.

"Of course not," she said dryly. "I'm just curious if someone else in my family might have been. Maybe that P.H. person who sent me the box was one. The note that came with it said I was the last of the Warren witches and that the book belonged to me. I figured it might be a good idea to at least read the book. Maybe something in there might help me understand where my gifts come from." And by gifts, Scarlett didn't mean her being a witch, because Scarlett was no ordinary witch. Scarlett was special. When she had first arrived at Hogwarts, much of the magic she was taught came so easily to her it was as thought she had a natural affinity to it, a ingrained ability to perform magic with no previous instruction or practice.

Scarlett had able to cast spells well beyond what any first year student should have been able to perform. This had made her the envy of many of her peers and an enigma to her teachers. None of them had ever met a witch quite like Scarlett. As far as anyone knew, no one had ever had such an easy time with magic. Spells that would have been difficult for a fourth year to perform came as easily to Scarlett as adding one plus one would be to a mathematician.

It was, in fact, Scarlett's strange abilities that first brought her to Balathar. He had taken an immediate interest in her unique powers and had even begun giving her private tutoring lessons during the evenings. She couldn't have known it then, but in truth Balathar wasn't interested in her abilities, the evening lessons had only giving him a reason to get close to her.

"I guess there could be," said Lilly quietly. "But you'd think if anything it would've been in your mum's journal, wouldn't you? If anyone would have known, it would have been her, right?"

"Maybe," said Scarlett. "I don't know what she knew, Lil. I never knew _her_." Lilly's attempt to change the subject from something depressing clearly hadn't worked, so she tried again.

"So, have you spoken to Jake or Hope recently?" she asked curiously.

"Jake called me a couple of days ago," Scarlett replied. "He's in America, you know? He was telling me about a tour that he took of Newcastle Academy of Magic in New York City. You know how he gets when he's excited. He was talking really fast, so I think he's having a good time."

"I'm sure he is," said Lilly slyly. "Have you seen the girl's skirts at Newcastle?"

"Well they can't be much shorter than ours," said Scarlett. "They don't even cover the knees when we're standing up, much less when we're sitting down. Why do you think I always hated sitting in the front row of desks in class?" Lilly shrugged.

"Give it a couple of years and I'm pretty sure you'll be able to earn yourself an Outstanding in any class with a male teacher with those skirts," said Lilly with a giggle. "Just do a bit of suggestive leg crossing and a nice smile… and we might have to get you a lollipop…"

"_Lilly_!"

"What?" said the blonde. "Look, I'm planning ahead. You're already cute and we both know you're gonna be smoking hot in a few years. If I'm going to have a sexy best friend I want to make sure we know how to use her effectively." Scarlett shook her head.

"I'm not even going to respond to that."

They rode in the car for nearly two hours, driving deeper and deeper into the countryside all the while. Finally, Scarlett saw the edge of a tall, wrought-iron fence outside of her window blocking access to a dense forested area.. It continued on for over a mile, appearing to enclose a very large area.

"Any idea what's in there?" Scarlett asked Lilly, gesturing out of the window.

"I've got an idea, yeah," said Lilly, but she didn't elaborate. Moments later the car took a right turn and stopped at a large gate in the fence. A large letter H was set into the center of the gate, which opened to let them pass. They drove for another five minutes, Scarlett becoming more and more confused as they went, before the dense forest on either side of the hilly, twisty-turny road fell away, revealing a wide, sprawling lawn that would easily rival Hogwarts' and a massive mansion sitting beside a crystal clear lake. Scarlett's jaw dropped and Lilly laughed and said,

"Welcome to the Harcourt Estate,"


	2. The Harcourt Estate

A/N: Hey guys. I can't even begin to tell you the reasons for the delay on this chapter. I've had a very difficult past eight or so months and writing has been virtually impossible for me to make time for, but now I'll be trying to start again. I can't promise regular updates nor can I promise I'll respond to the messages you guys send me in a timely manner, but I'll do my best. Thanks for sticking it out, ladies and gentlewizards.

-.-

**Chapter Two: The Harcourt Estate**

-.-

"You're _rich_," said Scarlett in a highly surprised voice. "I mean, you are _rich_. I didn't… Why didn't you tell me about this place?!" Lilly shrugged as the car trundled down the road and came to a stop in front of the mansion's tall, golden doors.

"I don't like to brag," said Lilly somewhat nervously. "I mean when people find out about this, they... treat you differently. Especially people like Mikayla..."

"What, does she know?" Scarlett asked, wondering how in the world the blonde bitch that had been hers and Lilly's enemy since their first day at Hogwarts could possibly know about Lilly's family's wealth while she, Lilly's best friend, had no idea.

"She has an idea, yeah," said Lilly quietly. "Okay, look, Mikayla's dad, Ghingrich Carson... you know, the guy behind the Puritists? Well, he's been trying to get my dad to fund his campaign for a couple of years now. I'm sure Mikayla knows all about us... it's probably why she doesn't like me very much. We've got more money than she does."

"I think you've got more money than _God_," said Scarlett as she and Lilly climbed out of the car.

"Well, I don't know about that," said a tall man in a very fine suit as he approached them from around the side of the mansion. "He and I haven't compared financial notes in a while," Although somewhat intimidating at first glance, with his high-class clothes and rich posture, the expression on this man's face as he stepped up to Lilly and Scarlett was nothing less than complete kindness.

"Hi, Daddy," said Lilly brightly. "This is Scarlett," she added, gesturing toward the brunette. "Carly, this is my dad, Stanforth Harcourt."

"Hello, Mr. Harcourt," said Scarlett pleasantly, but he shook his head vigorously and reached for her hand.

"Please, call me Stan," he said firmly, shaking Scarlett's dainty hand with both of his own, rather large ones. Scarlett was surprised to feel that Stan's hands were quite rough and callused like someone who spent their days doing manual labor, not working in a bank. "After all," Stan said brightly. "Any friend of my Lilly's is a friend of mine. Now, please, come in! Come in! My wife's dying to meet you. Lilly's been talking about you almost non-stop all summer."

"Dad..." said Lilly uncomfortably.

"Well, you did, dear," said Stan with a knowing look toward his daughter. "I think you might have a little bit of a crush, sweetheart..."

"_Dad!_" Lilly exclaimed, looking utterly appalled.

"I'm only stating my opinion, dear," said Stan lightly. "I mean there's only so many times you can talk about a girl's pretty eyes before people start to get ideas." he shrugged. "Well, come on in, girls. I believe Judy was making chocolate éclairs..." And he walked toward the golden doors. Scarlett looked at Lilly, whose face was so red Scarlett thought the blonde was about to explode. The other girl was doing her very best to avoid looking at the brunette.

"I'm... sorry about that," said Lilly slowly, her eyes on Scarlett's left knee. "My dad's a bit... well..."

"No, no, he's great!" said Scarlett brightly. "Your dad seems really nice! Now, come on," she added, wrapping her arm around the blonde's shoulders. "Let's go have some of those éclairs your mum's making."

"Oh, Judy's not my mum," said Lilly, leading the way inside. "Judy's the housekeeper."

"Well, naturally," said Scarlett as Lilly pulled open the front door. Scarlett noticed the doorknob was encrusted with dozens of sparkling jewels. Lilly held open the door and Scarlett stepped inside and gasped again. The mansion's entrance hall looked like something out of a king's palace. The marble floors shone with a fresh coat of wax and the twin rows of pillars that ran the length of the room, which Scarlett estimated was roughly the size of the Great Hall, rose up to a ceiling that was cloaked darkness due to it being so high.

"Oh, _wow_..." Scarlett whispered in an awed voice. "Wow..."

"I guess you're impressed," said Lilly, smiling at Scarlett's amazed expression.

"Impressed?!" Scarlett exclaimed. "Impressed doesn't cover it! Lil, this is amazing!"

"It is, isn't it?" said Lilly's brother, Peter, appearing from a doorway to the girls' right. "Hey, Scarlett,"

"Hi, Pete," Scarlett replied, flashing him her perfect smile. Pete actually blushed and smiled sheepishly back. Lilly looked positively murderous.

"So, did you have a good summer?" Peter asked Scarlett, who shrugged.

"As good as I could," she said. "What with everything that happened back at Hogwarts..."

"Yeah, I know," said Peter warmly. "I'm really sorry. Lilly's been going crazy worrying about you." Scarlett smiled and looked over her shoulder at Lilly, who instantly forced a bright smile on her face. "Lilly's sweet like that," Scarlett added, putting an arm around her best friend and pulling her close.

"Yeah, I sure am," said Lilly brightly. Scarlett smirked and kissed her on the cheek.

"Aw... how sweet!" Lilly's eldest brother, Sam, said as he appeared from the same doorway as Peter. "Aren't you two cute together?"

"Hey, Sam," said Scarlett with a grin. "Still a prat, I see,"

"A fact I take pride in, Moreau," he said loudly. "How was your summer?"

"Pretty good," Scarlett replied. "Yours?"

"Could've been better," Sam said stiffly.

"Oh?" Scarlett asked.

"He's just pissed that he didn't get as many O.W.L.s as he thought," said Lilly with a smirk.

"That, and his girlfriend broke up with him," Peter pointed out.

"Maria did _not _break up with me," said Sam firmly. "It was mutual,"

"Yeah, if mutual means she dumped you for Michael Broderick," said Peter.

"I hate you guys," Sam grumbled. He shrugged at Scarlett. "Welcome home," He told her before he stalked off up the stairs to an upper floor.

"Eh... I'd better go apologize," said Peter warily. "Knowing Sam, he'll set my broomstick on fire again if I don't."

"Sam set his broom on fire?" Scarlett asked Lilly as Peter followed Sam upstairs and Lilly steered her into the gleaming kitchen.

"Just a little," said Lilly idly. "Hey, Judy!" she called out to a middle aged woman with flaming red hair who was placing several metal cooking trays into the dishwasher.

"Hello, Lilly," Judy replied, smiling brightly at the blonde. "And you must be Scarlett!" she exclaimed, shaking the brunette's hand. "Lilly's told us all about you, of course! You were right, Lilly, she really is quite beautiful."

"_Judy!_" Lilly burst out.

"Oh... right, I wasn't supposed to say that..." Judy said nervously. "I... uh, I'm sorry. Er... I've just finished some chocolate éclairs..." She placed a tray on the counter. "I'll just..." She left the room hurriedly, looking nervously over her shoulder as she went.

"So, you think I'm beautiful, then?" Scarlett asked in a mildly interested voice, hoisting herself into a barstool and reaching for one of the éclairs.

"I... She was just... out of context, we... Well, I mean..." Lilly rambled nervously. Scarlett was smirking.

"So, is that a maybe?" she asked, arching her eyebrows.

"No, it... it's a yes," said Lilly quietly. "I just... with things people keep saying... don't want you getting the wrong idea..."

"Oh, I haven't gotten the wrong idea," said Scarlett knowingly. "You're head-over-heels utterly and completely in love with me. It's okay," she added at the expression of horror on Lilly's face. "I actually think Jake might be too. Don't tell him I know, though."

"Carly... I don't, I mean I'm not... Look, I _do _love you. Of course! It's just, I... I'm not _in love _with you. There's a difference and I don't... I mean, I'm not... I wouldn't expect..."

"Lil, relax," said Scarlett, barely containing a burst of laughter at the blonde's babbling. "I was joking." Lilly visibly relaxed and her anxious face broke into a nervous smile.

"Oh... well, yeah! Of course, you were joking! So was I! Obviously, I knew that!" Scarlett grinned and reached out the pat the other girl's forearm reassuringly. Scarlett was prepared for the usual, unexplainable tingling sensation the girls felt upon touching each other. But she wasn't prepared for what happened instead.

She gasped in shock and pain as what felt like a wall of unimaginably icy cold water engulfed her. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see, she couldn't even move... and then she was standing in a circular room in what she supposed was some sort of tower, like those that made up Hogwarts. The walls were made of stone and the floor was covered in a dark red carpet.

The room was illuminated by a brilliantly bright light shining through an open window. The light was so bright, that unless she walked over the ledge, she would be unable to see out. She was just about to walk over and try to see if she could tell where she was when a light breeze blew through the window and ruffled curtains of a luxurious four-poster bed that Scarlett hadn't noticed before.

The blankets began to move and a figure sat up. Scarlett instantly recognized the person as Lilly, although to her surprise she seemed to be older, perhaps in her late teens. Her normally pure blonde hair was very curly and was now sprinkled with brown, giving her a dirty blonde look. As Lilly sat up and stretched, Scarlett noticed that the blonde seemed to be wearing nothing but the sheet that was wrapped around her waist. Confused, surprised, and quite worried, Scarlett called out to her.

"Lilly?" She said uncertainly. The blonde ruffled her messy hair, but otherwise gave no hint that she had heard her. "Lilly? Lilly?!" But she didn't respond. Scarlett knew that Lilly would never just ignore her like this. She suspected that she had either been transported into the future or was having some sort of premonition in which she was simply an observer, watching events unfold while remaining unable to interfere.

Lilly shifted in bed, rolling over and nudging the figure that lay beside her. The other person jerked beneath the covers and whined sleepily.

"Leave me alone..." A very sleepy voice moaned from beneath the blankets.

"C'mon, Bells, wake up," Lilly said in a whisper. "Wake up, darling... Come on..." The figure under the blankets groaned, but relented and pushed back the covers giving Scarlett the shock of her life. Like Lilly, an older version of _herself _glared grumpily up at Lilly for a moment before Lilly leaned in and kissed her. Scarlett touched a hand to her lips as vision-Lilly and vision-Scarlett continued to kiss, suddenly surprised that she could feel the kiss as well.

"I love you..." Lilly whispered as they broke apart. "I've loved you since the day we met, Bells." Vision-Scarlett smiled up at the blonde hovering over her. She reached out and her fingertips grazed over the other girl's cheek. Scarlett noticed a thin, silver bracelet with a number of jewels encrusted in it slid down vision-Scarlett's arm.

"What took you so long to say something, then?" she asked. Scarlett genuinely wanted to hear the answer to that particular question, but at that moment her attention was drawn back to the window, through which she could hear the sounds of laughter, chattering voices, and the distant sounds of some sort of construction... hammering, she guessed. Curious, she elected to go and look out of the window and at last see what lay outside. However, at the very second she tried to walk toward the window the room around her dissolved and her eyes snapped open.

Present day Lilly stood in front of her, her face shining with anxiety. She seemed visibly relieved when Scarlett blinked a few times and focused on the other girl's blue eyes.

"Carly...?" Lilly said nervously. "Carly, are you okay?"

"I... I don't..." She swayed on the spot and Lilly lunged forward to support her.

"Here," Lilly said gently. "Sit down." She forced Scarlett into a chair at the kitchen table and knelt in front of her, her hands resting on Scarlett's knees. "God, you're shaking like a leaf," Lilly commenting, noticing how badly the brunette was trembling.

"What... what happened?" Scarlett asked. Even her voice shook.

"You just shut down on me," Lilly said quietly. "It was like you were just... gone. I mean physically you were right here, but... what's that saying? The lights were on, but no one was home."

"I think... I think I had some sort of vision or something," said Scarlett. "That, or I was transported into the future and I don't think that's even possible. No, I'm pretty sure it was a vision of the future... a premonition, I guess because no one was able to see me or hear me."

"Was I in it?" Lilly asked in a mildly interested voice. "Only... well, you called my name a couple of times. I just thought..."

"You were in it," said Scarlett. "You were..." How did she explain this? How much should she reveal? If she told Lilly the truth, she couldn't begin to guess how she might react. "We were in a tower... well, I guess it was a tower. It looked like our dormitory only it was bigger, but it was still a circular room. I know it was in the future because we both looked older... sixteen or seventeen, I'd say. We were... There was this window that was glowing with light. There were noises outside... people and what sounding like something being built. When I tried to look out of the window, I woke back up here."

She decided she wouldn't go into details about the vision. She had simply made it seem as though she and Lilly had been painting each other's nails or doing homework instead of each other. She couldn't come up with a way to convey that little detail and Lilly was far more interested in why Scarlett had even had the vision in the first place than asking for details on what they might have been doing in it.

"So, what do you think was going on outside... wherever we were?" Lilly asked, walking over and grabbing an éclair.

"I don't know," said Scarlett. "Like I said, it sounded like someone was building something, but... I don't know who and I don't know what." Lilly shrugged and pressed the éclair into Scarlett's hand.

"Eat it," she said firmly. "The chocolate will make you feel better, trust me." Scarlett didn't argue. She knew very well the effects chocolate could have and indeed she felt better instantly upon biting into the éclair.

"That was so scary..." Lilly said quietly. "You can't do stuff like that to me, sweetie."

"Because you love me?" Scarlett blurted out before she could stop herself. Lilly gazed at her for a long moment before answering.

"Yeah," she said honestly. "Because I love you. We're best friends and I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you."

"You're not going to lose me, Lil," said Scarlett seriously.

"I already almost lost you once," Lilly replied in a soft voice. "I don't..."

"Almost," said Scarlett firmly. "You _almost _lost me once. You didn't, so don't worry so much."

"I... I know..." Lilly said quietly. "It's just... that wizard that tried to kill you is still out there somewhere and I'm guessing he's pretty pissed at you for keeping him from getting the Orbstone."

"Yeah, I imagine he is," said Scarlett with a shrug. "And I'm also sure that Balathar is out there still trying to figure out how to kidnap me and force me to play house with him, but I'm not going to sit around worrying about it. We'll deal with it when we have to... and as for whatever happened today... I'm sure it was just another of my family's powers surfacing." Lilly perked up at this, her eyes widening in interest.

"Your family's powers?" she asked curiously. "What do you mean? What powers?"

"You remember the Book of Shadows, right? I told you I've been reading it over the summer. Well, it turns out my family, the Warrens, were a line of incredibly powerful witches that battled all manner of evil. The Book says they saved the world countless times too. Apparently, each member of the family line had amazing powers that grew and advanced over time.

"Premonition, Astral Projection, Telekinesis, Levitation, Empathy... the list goes on. I've been trying to see what powers I have... assuming I have any at all. From what I've read on premonitions, I think that might have been what this was."

"Premonitions, huh?" Lilly asked skeptically.

"Where did my bags end up?" Scarlett asked. "C'mon, we'll get the Book and I'll show you."

"They're up in my room," said Lilly. "You can have a room to yourself, of course, but I thought... well, I thought you might like to stay with me."

"Well, of course I would!" said Scarlett, which put a smile on Lilly's face. "In fact, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Lilly led the way back into the main hall and up the stairs that Lilly's brothers had gone up earlier. The girls emerged in the middle of a long, majestically decorated hallway that seemed to stretch on endlessly. They turned left and walked past nearly a dozen doors, each spaced about twenty feet apart, before Lilly finally stopped in front of a door. Instead of reaching for the doorknob, she tapped carefully upon its surface in a pattern that she clearly knew by heart. When she was finished, the door dissolved into nothingness before them. Lilly turned to Scarlett, grinning widely.

"Cool, huh?" she asked. "I'll have to teach you that since you're staying here. It keeps nosy brothers out of your room. The only irritating part is I can't storm off in a huff and slam my door when I'm mad at my parents."

"What happens if you try to open the door with the knob?" Scarlett asked curiously.

"We don't really know," she replied. "We think it teleports you somewhere. When the housekeeper we had before Judy shows back up, I guess we'll find out."

"You're not serious?!" Scarlett exclaimed. Lilly didn't reply and instead led the way into her bedroom. Scarlett followed her and was immediately embarrassed and immensely jealous. She imagined she could fit her entire house into just this one room. The room was filled with beautiful furniture and Lilly's many possessions, but perhaps the most interesting feature was the bed, or more precisely, what surrounded it.

The four-poster itself was twice as large as a king-size and was so tall that Lilly had to use a set of steps to get in. It was surrounded on all sides by what could only be described as a moat filled with live fish. The bed was draped with long sheets of thin silk, giving the occupant a small amount of privacy.

"Here, I want to show you something," said Lilly, pulling Scarlett over to the bed, the brunette leaping over the moat until she realized Lilly simply walked across the surface of the water as though it were solid ground. Scarlett climbed the small set of golden stairs and sat down on the edge of the bed. Lilly grinned and pushed her playfully backwards. She landed with a soft 'umph' as she hit the blankets. Lilly smirked and climbed up beside her.

"I've never tried this with anyone else before," she said slowly. "I'm... not sure it'll work." She reached down and blindly felt for Scarlett's hand, which almost instantly slipped into hers. "Close your eyes." she instructed. Scarlett obeyed. Lilly took brief notice of the brunette's very long eyelashes before shaking her head forcefully.

"Okay..." Lilly said uncertainly. "Okay, so I want to focus on the place where you feel the most comfortable. It doesn't have to be a real place... somewhere you've been... just picture a place where you would be completely and utterly happy and calm." Scarlett nodded slowly, her chest rising and falling silently for a few moments.

"Okay," she said at last.

"Now, really focus on it," said Lilly. "Imagine you're there. Think about what it smells like... what the air feels like. The sounds, the scents... any emotions that are linked with this place."

"Okay," Scarlett repeated. "I've got it."

"Then open your eyes." Scarlett did so and gasped for what she felt was the thousandth time that day. The bedroom had vanished. Instead of the room, their bed now sat in the middle of a small clearing deep in a forest. The air was cool and breezy and filled with the sounds of the forest at dawn. A thin layer of early morning fog swirled a few inches above the ground, silently distorting the grassy ground beneath them.

Scarlett sat up and looked around with an expression of complete bemusement on her face. She slipped off of the bed, her bare feet sinking softly into the cool, dewy grass. She looked down, not remembering removing her shoes... or putting on the flowing white sundress that fell to her knees.

"Lilly, I've got to get one of these beds," she said in a slightly awed voice. "What does it do? Magically alter your room, or...?"

"Well, it's... it's not the bed that's doing it," said Lilly, rolling on her side and propping herself up on her elbow. "It's... me."

"You?" Scarlett asked, surprised. Lilly arched her eyebrows.

"Hey, you're not the only one around here that gets to have cool powers," she said pointedly. "Honestly, I used to think it was the bed too. I've slept in it since I was a little girl, so I just figured... But then when I was at Hogwarts I was still able to do this, so..."

"Hold on," said Scarlett. "What, exactly, are you doing? Where are we?"

"We're lying on my bed," said Lilly. "In fact, we haven't actually gone anywhere. We're asleep on my bed. If I focus on something... a place, an event, whatever... I can project myself there while I'm asleep and I wake up just as rested as anyone who spends their nights dreaming. I always wondered if I could take someone else with me into this... place. I guess I can... and I can use whatever they're focusing on instead of doing it myself."

"Cool," said Scarlett, as though this news wasn't surprising at all. She knelt down and plucked a small yellow flower from the ground and held it to her nose.

"So, this is your favorite place?" Lilly asked curiously from her position on the bed. "Is it real, or did you just imagine it?"

"I imagined it," said Scarlett, returning to the bed and sitting down at the footboard.

"Well, it's beautiful," said Lilly, tugging the flower out of Scarlett's hand and tucking it into the brunette's hair just above her left ear. "Just like you."

"Well, aren't you sweet?" Scarlett asked, trying to hide her discomfort as memories of the vision returned to her. After all, according to vision-Lilly she had loved her since the day they met, which would mean that the blonde had those feelings right that minute… It wasn't something Scarlett wanted to think about. In an effort to change the subject, she asked; "So... when you come here... where do you go? What's your special place?"

"I'll show you," said Lilly. She closed her eyes and a moment later the world around the girls dissolved and when it reformed they found their bed sitting on a sandy beach at dusk. A warm breeze blew in from the vast, sparkling ocean that was reflecting the orange glow of the sun that sat just at the edge of the horizon. Fields of some unknown grass, tall and thin blades of it stretched out on the opposite side of the beach, being steadily wafted by the breeze.

"We're on the coast of Southern California," said Lilly quietly. "Near San Diego. My dad took me here when I was seven. I loved it here. It's so warm and beautiful, I wanted to stay. I couldn't, so I started to create it here, in this dream world."

"It's wonderful," said Scarlett, lying back across the bed and breathing in the clear, ocean air.

"It is," Lilly quietly agreed. "So much of the world was destroyed in the Great War... To still have something so beautiful is a blessing."

"Did you... go much further North?" Scarlett asked. Lilly shook her head.

"No," she said. "No... there's not much left. It's a lot like Paris. After the war ended, some cities were too radioactive to ever go near again. San Francisco... Los Angeles... they're mostly wastelands now and the government doesn't let anyone in." Scarlett nodded thoughtfully.

"Why did you want to know?" Lilly asked curiously. Scarlett shrugged.

"I don't know. There's... the Book of Shadows mentions San Francisco a lot. I think some of my ancestors came from there."

"Well, they must be ancestors from a really long time ago," said Lilly firmly. "Because no one has lived in San Francisco since the war ended and that was more than five hundred years ago."

"I know," said Scarlett. "I was just wondering." Lilly nodded, understanding.

"C'mon," she said softly. "Let's head back to the waking world. This place... it can start to get a little addicting if you stay here too long." She reached out and took Scarlett's hand and a moment later they found themselves lying next to each other on Lilly's bed.

"How sweet," said a girl's voice from the foot of the bed. Scarlett looked up and saw a young blonde girl that could almost be Lilly's twin sister watching them with a small smirk on her face.

"Scarlett, meet Nola," said Lilly. "My baby sister... who apparently has forgotten how to respect other people's privacy."

"That's what you get for sharing your door password with me," said Nola brightly. "I'd change that, by the way… what with her staying here." She inclined her head toward Scarlett. "Peter's nearly got it cracked and you can bet he'll be barging in here at… opportune moments for the rest of the summer." She grinned at Scarlett.

"Pete's got _such _a crush on you," she said plainly.

"I know," said Scarlett with a shrug.

"How do you know?" Lilly asked her sister pointedly, looking rather irritated. "And more to the point, how do _you _know?" she added, rounding on Scarlett.

"You already know how I know," said Nola, still grinning. "I'm an Empath," she told Scarlett. "I was born one. I'm able to read people's feelings and emotions. If it weren't so embarrassing for him, I'd tell you how Pete's emotions glow with the white-hot intensity of ten thousand suns whenever he thinks about you... oh, darn... well, I suppose I've already told you then, haven't I? That's a problem with us empaths. We don't always know when to shut up."

"Like right now," said Lilly sharply. "Now, how do you know about Pete again?" she asked Scarlett.

"I don't know, I... I guess I'm just... good at reading people." said Scarlett. "And he gave me that really sweet get-well card last year."

"Yeah..." said Lilly darkly. "I suppose he did."

"Anyway," said Nola. "I just came up here to tell you two that Mum wants you both downstairs. Dinner's almost ready."

The girls headed back down into the kitchen, Lilly and Nola trailing slightly behind Scarlett. Nola kept glancing at Lilly and smirking.

"_What_?" Lilly demanded in a hushed whisper. Nola shrugged.

"Oh, nothing..." she said innocently. "I'm just trying to figure out my price."

"Price?" Lilly asked, confused.

"For keeping my mouth shut about what emotions I see burning in you when you're with her," said Nola firmly, glancing at Scarlett. "It'll be tough to keep that secret, what with you flashing your feelings everywhere."

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about," said Lilly fiercely.

"And now you're lying," said Nola. "Come on, Lil, you know you can't lie to me."

"Alright, fine!" Lilly hissed. "I can't lie to you... but I can make your life a living hell at Hogwarts. So if you breathe a _word_, I'll..."

"Okay, cool your jets," said Nola, holding out her hands. "I won't say anything to her."

"To _anyone_!" Lilly demanded.

"Alright, alright... to anyone," Nola agreed.

"Er... one of you two might want to lead," said Scarlett uncertainly when she reached a point where the corridor branched off into five different directions. "I... don't have any idea where we are."

"It's this way," said Nola, striding off down the hallway to the left. Lilly and Scarlett followed her down the hallway until they reached a marvelous staircase that led them back into the kitchen. They crossed the gleaming kitchen and passed through a set of double doors and entered the dining room. The rest of the Harcourt family sat around a long, finely polished oak table. Janice Harcourt, Lilly's mother, stood up when she saw the girls enter and rushed over, engulfing Scarlett in a fierce hug.

"Oh, welcome Scarlett!" she said happily. "I'm so glad you came! Our Lilly's told us all about you, of course!" She held Scarlett at arms length to look her over.

"Oh, you're stunning!" she cooed. "I'll tell you, you're an early bloomer, I promise. Give it a year or two and you'll be busting out of every bra your mum buys you."

"Uh... thanks," said Scarlett uncertainly. 'I think,' she thought nervously.

"Oh, don't worry," said Mrs. Harcourt. "I was the same way. It's hard to get used to a first for well-endowed girls like us, but the day will come when you'll really appreciate a nice, full chest..."

"Mum, I like talking about Scarlett's boobs as much as anyone," said Jace, smirking. "But can we do it _after _dinner?"

"Right, of course," said Mrs. Harcourt. "I'm sure you're hungry, dear. Please, come and sit down!" Lilly seized Scarlett's hand and led her to the left side of the table where they sat down. Stan smiled as Scarlett took the seat directly to his right from where he sat at the head of the table.

"Judy's been hard at work on dinner," he told her warmly. "You do like boiled chicken, don't you?" Scarlett's heart skipped a beat and a sudden rush of memory flooded her mind.

_Balathar's face broke into one of the few true smiles Scarlett had ever seen him smile. Looking happier than she had ever seen him, Balathar stepped forward and led her to the table, his hand pressing gently against the small of her back. He pulled out Scarlett's chair for her and once she was seated he walked over to the fireplace to check on what he was cooking._

_"I'm afraid to say I'm not the best chef in the world," he admitted reluctantly._

_"Oh, I'm sure you're not that bad," said Scarlett kindly. Balathar chuckled._

_"I think the school chickens will disagree with you now that I've thinned their numbers by three." Balathar replied. Scarlett's eyes narrowed._

_"But you've only got one cooking… oh…"_

_"Yeah… like I said, not the best chef," he lifted the bird gently out of the fireplace and examined it. "I think this one will turn out nicely. You do like boiled chicken, don't you?"_

"Scarlett?" Lilly asked, gently taking her hand. "You okay?" Scarlett snapped out of her reverie and looked around at her.

"Yeah..." she said slowly. "Yeah, boiled chicken is great..."

"Excellent!" said Stan brightly. Lilly, however, still looked concerned but she didn't say anything. She just squeezed the brunette's hand more tightly under the table.

Dinner than evening was a rather sordid affair as far as Scarlett was concerned. The food was fantastic and the Harcourt family talked and laughed and enjoyed each other's company for over two hours. Scarlett tried to play along, but her mind was so preoccupied by her reaction to a simple question that she couldn't really focus on anything else.

When the meal was finished as last, Scarlett tried to excuse herself as quickly as possible. Lilly, as always, recognized her best friend needed to get away and insisted that Scarlett help her with something unspecified in her bedroom. No one questioned this and the girls managed to slip away upstairs unimpeded. When they were alone at last, sealed inside Lilly's bedroom, Scarlett allowed herself to let her guard down and sank slowly onto the edge of the bed, looking quite forlorn.

"What's going on?" Lilly asked delicately, leaning against the bedpost and gazing sadly at her friend.

"Nothing," said Scarlett quietly. She rolled her eyes. "Something... I don't know."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lilly asked, sitting down beside Scarlett.

"I... It was the chicken," said Scarlett. "Balathar asked me if I liked boiled chicken when I spent Christmas dinner with him last year. When your dad asked me, I... I just remembered that night... and Balathar... I don't know."

"Oh, honey," Lilly said softly, squeezing the brunette's knee. "I knew he effected you more than you were admitting. You still care about him, don't you?" Slowly, Scarlett nodded.

"I loved him, Lil," she whispered. "He... he was like a father to me. He knew my parents, he... said he loved me and I..." She shook her head. "It's stupid. God, I can't even imagine what he could have done to me all the times we were alone together... nor what he'd do to me if he ever managed to find me again, but... I still miss him."

"Of course you miss him!" Lilly exclaimed. "He was your friend. You built a relationship with him that was deep and meaningful. You trusted him. I don't think anyone would blame you for missing him."

"_I _blame me for missing him." said Scarlett. "After what he did, I should hate him... but I don't. I still care about him, regardless of what he did. I don't... I... I want to go to bed."

"Go ahead," said Lilly gently. "I'm gonna take a shower first. I'll be right back." She paused as she passed Scarlett and kissed the brunette on the cheek. She then disappeared into the bathroom. Scarlett heard the water turn on and the sound of the shower curtain being drawn. Scarlett opened her trunk and started digging for her nightgown. She had just pulled it out when her cell phone buzzed quietly on the nightstand.

Pulling her shirt over her head, she reached out and picked up the phone. The LED screen flashed to life and she immediately saw she had a text message. She didn't recognize the number of the sender, but she decided to read the message anyway. It only consisted of one single word, but for some reason that one word chilled her to her very core. She shook her head and set the phone down, but in the few moments it took for the screen to go black, the text message continued to glow brightly, burning that one word into her memory.

_'Always,'_

-.-

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed. This chapter isn't really my best work, but my mind isn't really in it right now. The next few will hopefully be of higher quality. Thanks, guys.


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